The system works well, but the batteries are a little heavy and unhandy when I want to hike into a remote site or play radio on the beach, for example.

In terms of receivers, my portables (like the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, Tecsun PL-660, etc.) simply use AA batteries which I charge with PowerFilm AA PV chargers (see above). My CommRadio CR-1a has an internal battery that will power it for hours at a time.

Power is much less of an issue with receivers because they’re quite resource efficient.

I mainly need a system to power my QRP ham radio gear, and that’s where I could use your experience!

Wish list

Charge controller

I need a new charge controller since my Micro M+ (no longer produced) is now being used to power a remote antenna tuner.

It would be an added bonus if the charge controller could also charge my batteries when grid power is available.

12 VDC Battery packs

I’d like something relatively lightweight and safe.

Note: LiPo packs worry me, especially since I had one (an early GoalZero model) quite literally melt down and burn up on my bed only a few hours after bringing it back from an eight hour flight a few years ago. Scary!

Pure Sine Wave Inverter

I’d also like a small, efficient pure sine wave inverter that I I could connect to my largest battery and power my laptop for extended SDR spectrum recording sessions while off-grid.

I’d love a recommendation from someone who uses one and can confirm a model that doesn’t create radio interference while operating.

Recommendations?

Post readers: Please comment with your recommendations and include model numbers and links if possible. Thank you in advance!

Maybe a bit overkill for your needs but I use a 8.4Ah LiFePo4 battery for my portable ops. Much safer than LiPo but much lighter than a traditional SLAB. Also, the discharge curve of the LiFePo4 makes it almost ideal for radio.

Inverters vary widely in QRM pure sine or not. They are basically a dc-dc switching supply turning 12v to 160v with an H bridge and pwm controller. On top of that the “neutral” is floating and none of the battery inputs are chassis connected so a lot of hash can get through. Never ever connect a capacitor across the AC output. You will blow out the H bridge. I use a high isolation transformer and re-establish the neutral ground after that. The best thing I can say is try different types and configurations.

Affiliate links

Many of you have suggested in the past that the SWLing Post join an affiliate links program.

The SWLing Post now participates in two affiliate advertising programs with two large retailers that still sell shortwave radios, the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the eBay Partnership, designed to provide a means for sites like ours to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to these retailers of radio products. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. This means that by clicking on these links, a small percentage of the purchase price for goods you purchase from these sellers will help support our site’s running costs. We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support.

But please note that we will never create a post and product link explicitly to receive a commission. Additionally, we always try to include links to other retail options if they are available, as we support and freely advertise independent ham radio retailers. Thank you, too, for your support of these sites.

Please support the SWLing Post by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Our advertisers are by invite only and are only radio related--no junk ads here! Ads are what helps us bring you premium SWLing content! Thank you so much!